{{short description|Province of British India}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox former subdivision | native_name = | conventional_long_name = North-East Frontier<br />(1874–1905) ---- Assam Province<br />(1912–1947) | common_name = Assam | nation = [[British India]] | subdivision = [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|Province]] | era = | year_start = 1912 | date_start = | event_start = Bifurcation of [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] | year_end = 15 August 1947 | date_end = | event_end = [[Independence of India]] | event1 = [[Simla Convention]] | date_event1 = 1914 | p1 = Eastern Bengal and Assam | s1 = Assam (1947–1963){{!}}Assam | s2 = East Bengal{{!}}East Bengal | image_flag = | flag_type = [[Flags of British India|Flag]] | image_coat = | symbol_type = Coat of Arms | symbol = Emblem of Assam | image_map = AssamProvince1936 Map.png | image_map_caption = Assam Province in 1936 | capital = [[Shillong]] | stat_area1 = 121908{{efn|Province area. Total area including dependent states (Manipur - 8456 sq mi and Khasi Hills - 6157 sq mi) is 61,682 sq mi (159755 км2)}}<ref>The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908) Vol. IV. p.14.</ref> | stat_year1 = 1901 | stat_area2 = 202270{{efn|Province area after [[Simla Convention]] and accession of South Tibet excluding dependent states.}} | stat_year2 = 1914 | stat_pop1 = | footnotes = | demonym = | life_span = 1874–1947 | p2 = | flag_s2 = Flag of Pakistan.svg | flag_s1 = Flag of India.svg | flag_p1 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg | today = {{hidden||{{Tree list}} * {{flag|Bangladesh}} ** [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet]] * {{flag|India}} ** [[Assam]] ** [[Arunachal Pradesh]] ** [[Manipur]] ** [[Meghalaya]] ** [[Mizoram]] ** [[Nagaland]] ** [[Tripura]] {{tree list/end}} }} }} {{Assam History}} '''Assam Province''' was a province of [[British India]], created in 1912 by the partition of the [[Eastern Bengal and Assam]] Province. Its capital was in [[Shillong]].
The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' [[non-regulation province]]. It was incorporated into the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam in 1905 and re-established as a province in 1912.
==History== {{main|Colonial Assam}} In 1824, Assam was occupied by British forces following the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]] and on 24 February 1826 it was ceded to Britain by Burma under the [[Treaty of Yandabo|Yandaboo Treaty of 1826]].<ref>{{Citation |editor-first=C. U. |editor-last=Aitchison |title=The Treaty of Yandaboo, (A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads: Relating to India and Neighbouring Countries. Vol. XII.) |place=Calcutta |pages=230–233 |url=http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Burma/002.htm |publisher=Projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu |year=1931 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202003039/http://projectsouthasia.sdstate.edu/Docs/history/primarydocs/Treaties/Burma/002.htm |archive-date=2 December 2008 }}</ref> Between 1826 and 1832, Assam was made part of Bengal under the [[Bengal Presidency]]. From 1832 to October 1838, the Assam princely state was restored in Upper Assam while the British ruled in Lower Assam. [[Purandar Singha]] was allowed to rule as king of Upper Assam in 1833, but after that brief period Assam was annexed to Bengal by the British. In 1873, British political control was imposed on western [[Naga people|Naga communities]]. On 6 February 1874, Assam, including [[Sylhet]], was severed from Bengal to form the Assam Chief-Commissionership, also known as the 'North-East Frontier'. Shillong was chosen as the capital of the Non-Regulation Province of Assam in September 1874. The [[Lushai Hills]] were transferred to Assam in 1897. The new Commissionership included the five districts of Assam proper ([[Undivided Kamrup district|Kamrup]], [[Nagaon]], [[Darrang]], [[Sibsagar]] and [[Lakhimpur district|Lakhimpur]]), [[Khasi-Jaintia Hills]], [[Garo Hills]], [[Naga Hills District, British India|Naga Hills]], [[Goalpara]] and [[Sylhet district|Sylhet]]-[[Cachar]] comprising about 54,100 sq miles.
From 16 October 1905, Assam became part of the province of East Bengal and Assam. The province was annulled in 1911 following a sustained mass protest campaign and on 1 April 1912 the two parts of Bengal were reunited and a new partition based on language followed, [[Oriya language|Oriya]] and [[Assamese language|Assamese]] areas were separated to form new administrative units: [[Bihar and Orissa Province]] was created to the west, and Assam Province to the east.
British India's [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms]] enacted through the [[Government of India Act 1919]] expanded the Assam Legislative Council and introduced the principle of [[dyarchy]], whereby certain responsibilities such as agriculture, health, education, and local government, were transferred to elected ministers. Some of the Indian ministers under the dyarchy scheme were [[Muhammed Saadulah|Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla]] (education and agriculture 1924–1934) and Rai Bahadur Promode Chandra Dutta (local self-government).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sharma|first1=Suresh|title=Documents on North-East India: Assam (1664–1935)|year=2006|publisher=Mittal Publication|isbn=81-8324-089-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JCnLlpHhtUgC&pg=PA205}}</ref>
The [[Government of India Act 1935]] provided provincial autonomy and further enlarged the elected provincial legislature to 108 elected members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://assamassembly.gov.in/mla-1937-46.html|title=Assam Legislative Assembly – MLA 1937–46|website=assamassembly.gov.in|access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref> In 1937, elections were held for the newly created Assam Legislative Assembly established in Shillong. The [[Indian National Congress]] had the largest number of seats, with 38 members, but declined to form a government. Therefore, the [[Assam Valley Party]] with [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]]'s support Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla was invited to form a ministry. Saadulla's government resigned in September 1938, after the Congress changed its decision, and the Governor, Sir Robert Neil Reid, then invited [[Gopinath Bordoloi]]. Bordoloi's cabinet included the future President of India [[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]]. During the [[Japanese invasion of India]] in 1944, some areas of Assam Province, including the [[Naga Hills District, British India|Naga Hills district]] and part of the [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur princely state]], were occupied by Japanese forces between mid March and July.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mahalanobis |first=P. C. |date=1946 |title=Distribution of Muslims in the Population of India: 1941 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25047887 |journal=Sankhyā: The Indian Journal of Statistics (1933-1960) |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=429–434 |issn=0036-4452}}</ref>
When fresh elections to the provincial legislatures were called in 1946, the Congress won a majority in Assam, and Bordoloi was again the chief minister. Prior to the [[Independence of India]], on 1 April 1946, Assam Province was granted self-rule and on 15 August 1947 it became part of the [[Dominion of India]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_BrProvinces.htm|title=Provinces of British India|website=www.worldstatesmen.org|access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref> Bordoloi continued as the chief minister even after India's [[Partition of India|independence]] in 1947.
===Chief commissioners=== * 1889 – 1891: [[James Wallace Quinton]] (b. 1834 – d. 1891) * 1912 – 1918: [[Archdale Earle]] (b. 1861 – d. 1934) * 1918 – 3 January 1921: [[Nicholas Beatson-Bell|Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell]] (b. 1867 – d. 1936)
===Governors=== {{see also|List of Governors of Assam}} * 3 January 1921 – 2 April 1921: [[Nicholas Beatson-Bell|Sir Nicholas Dodd Beatson Bell]] (b. 1867 – d. 1936) * 3 April 1921 – 10 October 1922: Sir [[William Sinclair Marris]] (b. 1873 – d. 1945) * 10 Oct 1922 – 28 June 1927: Sir [[John Henry Kerr]] (b. 1871 – d. 1934) * 28 Jun 1927 – 11 May 1932: Sir [[Egbert Laurie Lucas Hammond]] (b. 1873 – d. 1939) * 11 May 1932 – 4 March 1937: Sir [[Michael Keane (governor)|Michael Keane]] (b. 1874 – d. 1937) * 4 March 1937 – 4 May 1942: [[Robert Reid (civil servant)|Robert Neil Reid]] (b. 1883 – d. 1964) * 4 May 1942 – 4 May 1947: [[Andrew Gourlay Clow|Sir Andrew Gourlay Clow]] (b. 1890 – d. 1957) * 15 Mar 1944 – Jul 1944: [[Renya Mutaguchi|Mutaguchi Renya]] (b. 1888 – d. 1966) Mil (Japanese military commander) * 16 Mar 1944 – Jul 1944: [[A. C. Chatterjee]] IIL (for the provisional government of Free India) * 4 May 1947 – 15 August 1947: [[Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari|Sir Saleh Hydari]] (b. 1894 – d. 1948)
===Chief ministers=== {{Main|Prime Minister of Assam}}
* 1 April 1937 – 19 September 1938: [[Muhammed Saadulah|Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla]] (b. 1885 – d. 1955), [[All-India Muslim League]] (1st time) * 19 Sep 1938 – 17 November 1939: [[Gopinath Bordoloi]] (b. 1890 – d. 1950) [[Indian National Congress]] (1st time) * 17 Nov 1939 – 24 December 1941: [[Muhammed Saadulah|Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla]] (b. 1885 – d. 1955), [[All-India Muslim League]] (2nd time) * 24 Dec 1941 – 24 August 1942: Governor's Rule * 25 Aug 1942 – 11 February 1946: [[Muhammed Saadulah|Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla]] (b. 1885 – d. 1955), [[All-India Muslim League]] (3rd time) * 11 Feb 1946 – 15 August 1947: [[Gopinath Bordoloi]] (b. 1890 – d. 1950) [[Indian National Congress]] (2nd time)
===Deputy commissioners of the Naga Hills District=== {{see also|Naga Hills District, British India}} * 1912 – 1913: J. K. Webster * 1913 – 1917: H. C. Berners * 1917 – 1935: [[John Henry Hutton]] (b. 1885 – d. 1968) * 1935 – 1937: [[James Philip Mills]] (b. 1890 – d. 1960) * 1937 – 1947: [[Charles Ridley Pawsey]] (b. 1894 – d. 1972)
==Administration== There were 2 administrative divisions in the province, including the Assam Valley Division,and the Surma Valley Division. There were a total of 14 Districts.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;" |- ! style="background:#9cf;" rowspan="1"| Division ! style="background:#9cf;" rowspan="1"| Divisional Headquarters ! style="background:#9cf;" rowspan="1"|Districts ! style="background:#9cf;" rowspan="1"| Princely states |- | Assam Valley Division |[[Guwahati]] |[[Goalpara district|Goalpara]], [[Undivided Kamrup district|Kamrup]], the [[Meghalaya|Garo Hills]], [[Darrang]], [[Nagaon district|Nowgong]], [[Sivasagar district|Sibsagar]] and [[Lakhimpur district|Lakhimpur]], [[Sadiya Frontier District]], [[Balipara Frontier District ]] | [[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur]] |- | Surma Valley Division | [[Silchar]] | [[Sylhet Division|Sylhet]], [[Barak Valley|Cachar]], the [[Khasi and Jaintia Hills]], the [[Nagaland|Naga Hills]] and the [[Mizoram|Lushai Hills]] | [[Khasi States]] |- |}
[[Manipur (princely state)|Manipur]] under jurisdiction the Assam Valley Division.
==Demographics== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Religious groups in Assam Province (1941) ! rowspan="2" |[[Religion in India|Religious]]<br>group ! colspan="2" |1941<ref name="Census1941">{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/saoa.crl.28215541 |jstor=saoa.crl.28215541 |access-date=22 July 2022 |title=Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab |year=1941 |author1=India Census Commissioner |volume=6 }}</ref>{{rp|42}} |- !{{abbr|Pop.|Population}} !{{Abbr|%|percentage}} |- ! [[Hinduism]] [[File:Om.svg|15px]]{{efn|name=ad-dharmi|1931 & 1941 censuses: Including [[Ad-Dharmi]]s}} | 4,540,950 | {{Percentage |4540950|10930388| 2 }} |- ! [[Islam]] | 3,474,141 | {{Percentage |3474141| 10930388| 2 }} |- ! Tribal Religion | 2,824,133 | {{Percentage |2824133|10930388| 2 }} |- ! [[Christianity]] [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]] | 67,184 | {{Percentage | 67,184| 10,930,388| 2 }} |- ! [[Buddhism]] [[File:Dharma_Wheel_(2).svg|15px]] | 8,317 | {{Percentage | 8317|10930388| 3 }} |- ! Others | 15,663 | {{Percentage |15663|10930388| 2 }} |- ! Total population ! 10,930,388 ! {{Percentage | 34309861 | 34309861 | 2 }} |- class="sortbottom" | colspan="3" | {{small|All figures include [[Sylhet Division]] in Bangladesh}} |}
==See also== *[[Bengal Presidency]] *[[British rule in the Lushai Hills]] *[[Colonial Assam]] *[[Northeast Frontier Railway zone]] *[[Partition of Bengal (1905)|Partition of Bengal]]
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}} {{EB1911|wstitle=Assam}}
* ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' (26 vol, 1908–31), highly detailed description of all of India in 1901. [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/ online edition]
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20140219000110/http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Download/Jrp/pdf/133_3.pdf Integration of the North East: the State Formation Process] (archived 19 February 2014)
{{Assam}} {{Presidencies and provinces of British India}} {{coord|26.14|N|91.77|E|region:IN_type:landmark_source:kolossus-svwiki|display=title}}
[[Category:Provinces of British India]] [[Category:History of Assam]] [[Category:History of Nagaland]] [[Category:Bengal Presidency]] [[Category:1912 establishments in British India]] [[Category:1947 disestablishments in British India]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1947]]